“Israel says it has killed a senior Hamas leader in Gaza.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
a car destroyed by an Israeli strike in Gaza, photo: EPA Source: Reuters
Details: Saed is named as one of the organizers of the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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Reuters writes that this was perhaps the most high-profile killing of a high-ranking member of Hamas since the Gaza ceasefire agreement came into force in October.
In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saed was targeted in retaliation for a Hamas attack in which an explosive device wounded two soldiers earlier Saturday.
According to the militant-controlled Gaza health authorities, five people were killed and at least 25 injured as a result of the attack on the car. Hamas has not yet confirmed that Saed was among the dead.
An Israeli military official described Saed as a high-ranking member of Hamas who helped establish and develop an arms production network for the terrorist organization.
Reuters sources in Hamas also describe him as the second-in-command of the group’s armed wing after Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
According to these sources, Saed led the Hamas battalion in Gaza, one of the group’s largest and best-equipped battalions.
In a statement, Hamas condemned the strike as a violation of the ceasefire agreement, but did not say whether Saed was injured or threatened retaliation.
Prehistory:
- The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. According to medical workers in Gaza, more than 70,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died as a result of Israeli retaliation.
- The truce concluded on October 10 allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of Gaza. Israel withdrew troops from urban positions and the flow of humanitarian aid increased.
- However, the violence did not stop completely. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce deal. Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, and that it has attacked dozens of militants in retaliation.